The Tessa Randolph Collection, Books 1-3 by Paula Lester (best ereader for comics .txt) 📗

at the screen and then held it to her ear. “Come on, come on. Answer,” she muttered as she got on the elevator and punched the button for the first floor.

“Theresa? Where are you? You disappeared from the awards ceremony so fast I didn’t get to talk to you.” Cheryl’s voice was clear and calm. It anchored Tessa a bit, helping to get her heart slowed down.

“It . . . it was Lee Stuart,” she said, finally catching her breath. “He’s the one behind Art and Cynthia’s deaths. And more.”

“He—he did what?”

“He saved people slotted to die in the east, so the allotments went to his side. Then, he used them to kill people who weren’t really scheduled to die.” She tapped her foot and watched the light indicate which level she was on. The elevator seemed to be moving slower than usual—they always do.

“But how do you know that?”

“Because he told me right before I . . . before I . . .”

“Spit it out!” her mother scolded.

“Before I reaped him.”

There was silence on the line. If Tessa wasn’t so wound up about finding Lee, she might have celebrated the victory of driving her mother speechless. She couldn’t remember having ever accomplished that before.

But she was distracted by the matter at hand and didn’t have time to bask. “Mom. Lee’s dead. And his spirit escaped. I don’t even know if he’s still in the hotel. I’m going down to the main floor to try and spot him.”

“Okay. It’s just a lot to process. Even for me.”

“It’s not all,” Tessa replied. “Timothy is up in that room where the task force was keeping him. He’s injured. He needs help right away.”

“I’ll go up there now. You find Lee. There are plenty of reapers to help. Be careful.” Cheryl hung up without waiting for Tessa to respond.

The elevator door finally opened, and Tessa hurried out. There were a few people in the lobby, and one of them was Bubba. His expression was bewildered as he focused on Tessa. “Lee Stuart just passed right through my body. What happened? Did Timothy kill him too?”

“No. I did.”

Bubba’s confusion deepened.

She waved a hand before Bubba could say anything else. “I don’t have time to explain. Which way did Lee go? We have to catch him and cross him over.”

He spun around and pointed. “I think toward the bar.”

Tessa ran past Bubba, dodging around other reapers in the lobby and hallway until she skidded to a stop in the bar’s doorway. Frustration boiled up in her chest as she surveyed the place—there were so many reapers there that it was hard to sort out who was who. A spirit would be difficult to spot in the dim room with all the live people milling about.

Bubba arrived next to her, also scanning the room. “I don’t see him.”

“Me either.”

“Let me ask around. Maybe someone saw him go through.” Bubba hurried forward.

Tessa moved into the room, making her way around reapers and trying to look everywhere at once for Lee.

“There you are! Do you want a margarita or a gin and tonic?” Gloria blocked Tessa’s path. She had a cocktail in her hand and a wide smile on her face. “One last party before we head back to the grind.”

Tessa shook her head. “I can’t.” She took Gloria’s glass and set it on a nearby table. “Actually, you can’t either. I need your help.”

“Hey! That was expensive.” Then Gloria snorted out a laugh and waved a hand. “But whatever. I put it on the black card. What’s up?”

“Lee Stuart murdered Art and Cynthia. And a few other people. Actually, who knows how many people he’s killed over the years.” Tessa looked over her friend’s shoulder, trying to spot Lee’s spirit. She scanned the area near the ceiling but didn’t find him.

Chet was one thing. But battling a spirit with the reaper knowledge Lee possessed was going to be difficult. What would happen if he really got away? She didn’t want to think about it.

Gloria looked puzzled. “You mean, Lee was killing people who weren’t scheduled to die?”

“That’s exactly what I mean. And now he’s dead. But his spirit escaped, and I have to find it and cross it over. I need all the help I can get.”

She felt a burst of friendship when Gloria immediately took on a professional air and started scanning the room for Lee.

“Tessa!” Bubba arrived next to the two women. “No one I talked to saw Lee.”

Tessa groaned. “Okay. Where else could he be?” She paused as a sudden thought came to her. “And why would he have come to the bar in the first place? I mean, there are so many reapers here. If his intention is to escape being crossed over, you’d think he’d stay as far away from reapers who could see him and take him over the veil as possible.” Her mind raced to catch up with its own train of thought. “Unless escape isn’t his intention.”

“I’m not sure I follow.” Gloria and Bubba exchanged a confused look.

“Maybe he’s after April. You know, for one last opportunity to one-up her.” Tessa leaned forward. “Can a spirit kill a live person?”

Gloria’s brow creased as she considered the question. “I’ve heard of it happening. I think there have to be certain extenuating circumstances. But Lee was a district supervisor. If anyone knows the loopholes, it would probably be him.” She paused. “You think he’s going to try to kill April?”

“I think we have to assume he is.” Tessa spun around again, this time scanning the room for the eastern district supervisor. “Have either of you seen April?”

“Did you say you’re looking for April?” Shirley spoke from the table next to them, where she’d commandeered Gloria’s drink and sucked down half of it already. “I think she went to take one last dip in the pool. You know she’s quite the swimmer.”

“The pool. Come on.” Tessa took off for the door, Gloria and Bubba right behind her.

As they rushed through the lobby,